First on LateNighter: Things have been been looking pretty grim for lately those of the same political persuasion as John Oliver, but at least there’s one thing to celebrate: the return of Monday morning Last Week Tonight YouTube clips.
Fans of the show (and John Oliver himself) weren’t happy last year when HBO delayed the show’s longstanding practice of posting its main story to YouTube from Mondays to Thursdays.
At the time HBO signaled that the move was intended to help boost subscriptions to Max, Warner Media’s streaming platform.
“When Last Week Tonight With John Oliver premiered on HBO, the convenience of watching on Max did not exist, so YouTube allowed flexible viewing for the main story as well as promotional exposure,” an HBO spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. “We are now delaying that availability and hope those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.”
Fans were not pleased, nor was Oliver. In an interview with The New York Times back in September, he called the YouTube delay “massively frustrating,” adding “I was not happy with it at all.”
“What I love about having the show on YouTube is that we can reach beyond HBO subscribers. That feels really important to me,” Oliver told the Times. “I really, really appreciate the fact that they do that. I would rather they did it straight after the show the way we’ve always done it, but I’m very grateful that they are willing to still do it at all.”
With Last Week Tonight kicking off its twelfth season last night, the YouTube delay is apparently no more. Last night’s main story about Donald Trump’s first month in office was posted to its YouTube channel shortly after it aired on the West Coast.
A source close to the show confirmed today that morning-after clips are, in fact, back this season.
Since its debut in 2014, Oliver and his show have won 30 Emmy awards, including every writing and series Emmy that they’ve been nominated for. In December 2023, the series was renewed for three additional seasons, through 2026.
Get stories like this in your inbox: Sign up for LateNighter’s free daily newsletter.
Would love for the entire show be on YouTube. People need NEED to see the bit with dogs!!